It was his fault. Perhaps the data in the memory banks about customs of that century there were wrong.
Zorack didn't know how many times he had thought about it and shook his head, fiddling with the controls and wires unnerved. Scarlet's presence hadn't helped either. He was reviewing the scene of their arrival at the bridge with a loser. Angel had thrown herself into Spike's arms without him being able to explain anything in the face of his mate's possessive manner.
It was her disappointment and her indignant hurt that made him feel guilty. Zorack had never felt so helpless as struggled to control his anger at the sight. He could punch that cheeky kid in the face.
What did that native mean to her?
-It is better not to join these two wires ... - Max commented patiently. - The situation will get even worse if we lose access to the rest of the ship. Heavens! Can you think of anything else? Why don't you just ask Angel what her relationship is with Spike?
Zorack heard little when an electric shock ran through his fingers. He let go of the strands, gritting his teeth, grinding insults. His eyes left the tangle of circuits and focused on Max.
-Like?
Of course, he could ask her. It was enough to ignore her bellicose and reserved way.
What is he to you ?! Oh, you're not really going to do that, Zorack. The thought came strong.
-Rays! Ask her if it bothers you that much. - Max suggested, lowering himself to the panel holding tools. - What difference would it make? I think everyone is already commenting on his bad mood.
He wasn't going to make his situation any worse with Scarlet in any way.
Scarlet ?! Curse! How was he going to explain that their relationship was over? It had been a tremendous mistake to include her in the crew, knowing that their involvement was over. Ah, it had been Max. For years, Max had tried to approach Scarlet without success.
- To ask?! And say what else? - he exploded without patience.
Max laughed in a good mood.
-Who knows the truth. -he suggested meekly. - What else happened in the air ducts besides the Zorckans?
The first imediat laughed even more. Normally Zorack never showed any emotion other than efficiency and readiness to obey orders.
What a hell! Was it that evident? Zorack was uncomfortable.
-What do you mean by that?
Max looked at him in awe.
-Let's go! This girl has always been an obsession for you. - Max started to enumerate several reasons. - You read everything about the literature of this century that we still have. even studied Evolution of Humanity at the Confederation academy. Unbelievable!
Zorack narrowed his eyes, muttering to himself.
-I don't even know what you're implying.
"I only managed to put my feet in my hands. I did everything wrong! Can you believe that?"
-Ah, Zorack! - Max forgot all about the tools and looked at him, leaving the repairs to the control panel.
-You kissed the girl, didn't you?
"Much more than that, you can bet!"
Kiss?
Well, it had been so much more than kissing. The feeling of being buried in that tight body made him burn in hell. What would it be like to do everything else? Only the fullness of her excitement made him grunt heatedly. He had given himself over to desire and ended up hurting the girl. Of course, he should have taken advantage of it.
-I do not ... - the captain was ready to deny.- I could never feel that way after ... after ... - Zorack looked away thinking seriously about Klaus.
-Damn it. It's me.- Max was serious. - You won't deceive me like that. I bet whatever you want that kissed the girl.
Zorack rolled his miserable eyes, stifling a curse. How had it been? Ah, certainly very different about what they talked about in the academy. It was the paradise of his hallucinations. It wouldn't take long to start hallucinating with Angel even after waking up after experiencing the delight the girl was hiding.
The small body next to his was an ocean of temptations and promises. The sexual holograms could induce serotonin and whatever else, but the reality was ... He shook his head in absorption. It was much better than could have expected.
He vaguely remembered the feeling of touching her skin. It felt like silk under his hands. His body muscles reacted tense with the protesting memories. Her relaxed smile was maddening, but it was even better to feel those lips. The taste of that mouth was intoxicating more than ... The sight of her wet body after the shower was capable of ending the control of anyone.
-You really kissed her. - Max was amazed and curious. - You had the courage. I do not believe this.
- Changing body fluids? - Zorack replied sarcastically. - Max, she's ...
Perfect.
For an instant, he had experienced total satisfaction. The hesitant caress at first had aroused the girl's pleasure. He just remembered her muffled moans. Everything in his body from the waist down agreed. Her golden eyes shone dreamily. But then ...
-Your scoundrel. And yet wasn't going to tell me. And then?
Zorack shook his head again. It was difficult to explain. He knew that there was work to be done, but the mind was easily distracted. Rays! He felt like a teenage rookie ... She could easily get him excited. He had scared Angel. Damn clumsiness.
-Max, the sensation is divine. Feel the warmth of it close to the skin. Her taste. Angel is simply ... - he daydreams dreamily.
Max laughed and shrugged.
-And how do you think Scarlet would react ... Damn it, Zorack. I think you better change those damn laws soon. This time, I think I finally have a chance with Scarlet.
Zorack sighed at his friend's aspirations. Scarlet's charm on Max had only heightened her feelings about refusals. Once again, he imagined that he must feel at the very least jealous. For years he had been a commander for him, but it was impossible.
Patience. But the same was not true of Angel. He intended to see her talking to Spike. There were laws inside a ship and he was the damn captain. He was going to make it very clear that escorts in the booths were not allowed, especially if the girl belonged to him. He hated, even more, the camaraderie between the two, wondering uneasily what the boy meant to her.
-Max, I know. I know a lot needs to change, believe me. I just need some time to explain to Angel that ...
- It can't be that hard. You are the heir to the crown in Édrin. Angel is the last survivor of the murdered monarch.
"Mercy, she didn't even know her real parents." Zorack was still hesitating. -How do you think I'm going to explain suddenly that she is my wife, from what they understand here? - Impatience again accentuated his irritation. - She was so young when they decided to bring her here.
Max took a patient deep breath.
-You didn't see her eyes when found out what we can do. Or for any of us. -the captain's disappointment was worse. - I could feel fear in her. She was afraid of her own people.
She had been afraid of him.
It was the most frustrating of all. For years, all he had hoped for was an opportunity for them to bring her back to Édrin. In recent years, very few of them had kept the gift of magic intact. It was annoying anyone. A wife who was afraid of him. Not even in nightmares ... What happened to his plans for revenge?
"Why don't you try to tell her the whole truth?" Max suggested understandingly.
Zorack's eyes widened in amazement. After all?
-I'm just going to tell the girl that she's my wife? Also, tell that she is the daughter of our dead leader? - he showed absolute disbelief. "How do you expect me to tell Angel that her father was the king who ruled Édrin before everything changed?" I'll let Cailín be more aloof with me. Explain to her that a rebellion can end what is left of us? You know as well as I do that marriage to the heirs of the Crown of Édrin can bring peace to our world. Many of us still think that magic is ...
And that was not even the worst. How was he going to explain to her that the girl was a hybrid?
The cabin door opened with a metallic sound. Zorack spun on his heel, displaying a tranquillity he didn't feel.
Still, very serious, Angel resembled yet another warrior ready to attack. The expression on her face was furious. He could capture the conflicting emotions she was experiencing, cursing bad luck.
-Why doesn't try to tell me? Her voice was dangerously low and smooth.
Curse of fate. How much had the girl overheard from the conversation?
Husband?!
One husband?
Since when had they decided on her life without her being able to guess? She didn't need a husband like him at all. It mattered little that he was handsome, attractive, and the most detestable of captains. The floor threatened to disappear under her feet.
Zorack groaned, seeing her face pale.
-I can explain...
-Since when they decided I was ...- the word did not leave her lips.
Wife. She looked offensive. God! She was only sixteen! Girls at that age would only get married if they were pregnant. All she had experienced was the most disastrous kiss of her life. Well, the only one. Even so...
-Marry? But what are you talking about? Do you want to tell me who talked about marriage around here? "Angel finally exploded, emotions spilling over the precarious link." Who decided? Certainly not after everything that happened! You don't even know how to treat a woman!
She didn't really notice, but Zorack closed his mouth in a hard line. Her hands ...
All he managed to do was dodge at the last moment. Her hands shone, her fingers radiating intense, pure fire. Finally, he faced the little arsonist seriously and resigned.
----
Spartackus Zorack narrating:
It was an extreme decision. Radical.
I shouldn't have agreed. What the hell!
Angel had very easily accessed the ship's security systems. Spartackus' artificial intelligence, Iron, had recognized DNA readings in its system. The blood of the descendants of the House of Igneous still ran in her veins. Nobody there said anything. And everyone looked silent and thoughtful. It didn't matter what place it was. The ship's sensors under Iron's guidance selected the main capitals on the planet. They were always the same sad scenes wherever I went.
The virus had spread extremely easily through the planet's atmosphere ... There were millions of infected people. The streets still showed a few healthy people and terrible images of broken and destroyed markets and shops. It was chaos. Traffic-accidents. Fights. It was hysteria, running and clashes between groups of survivors.
And it was going to get worse ... I sighed without looking at Angel who had the eyes fixed on the panel screen in the control room reflected in the air. I knew those scenes well. had experienced the terror of those people. My world ... what was left of my world was only memories of the glory and power of the Edrians in the Zairon system. Those people ... The dead ... Humans couldn't even assess what was yet to happen.
They wouldn't have time to incinerate the bodies of the corpses. And then ... Once again I was going to watch what hated the most. Ghost spirits. The dead would rise again under Ravenack. Bodies without souls or will or even a conscience. Without any memory of what they had been when alive. They would be little more than animals and hunting. They would pursue the survivors who would be the new hosts of K'Aldriants. New inexhaustible bags of fresh blood.
They were just dead brains with no decoded electrical impulses, no living neurons or even nerve synapses. It was an irreversible condition after the virus penetrated the organism and reached the nervous system. And yet it was not necessary for bodies that moved without their own lives. They were now part of collective and alien consciousness.
-Bitch who gave birth! - Spike was the first to break the oppressive silence. - That's right ... It's a slut, isn't it? They don't even look like damn zombies ... My old men ... They travelled...
I looked at the silent boy. Zombies? I could laugh. They were fast and the missing brain was replaced by symbiosis with those deadly creatures. There was a name for those things ... Yorumanis. A slow Yorumani? A complete fool and demented as the girl had seen in those films was ... That was the joke of the century. They were not slow, they were not stupid, nor were they easy to be deceived.
I think what hated most about his appearances were the faces with deformed expressions and the unhappy, totally white eyes. Besides being cannibals to each other, they were still strong. And the smell ...
-Do you understand the meaning of invasion and pandemic now? - I asked dryly.
Angel kept quiet. hadn't said anything. Even with her breathing slightly agitated, she kept quiet. I kept the hell bomb in case the girl had another one of that shortness of breath attacks. Her coldness and indifference to the scenes were only apparent.
-This is not a fucking zombie apocalypse! These things...
Max looked at me in silent warning to keep me silent. My bad mood was visible with that kid who was next to Angel. Infernal boy. I ignored the silent warning from my colleague and first imediat, tormented by that human's jealousy.
-And it will get harder, kid. - I replied shrugging sarcastically. - You still haven't seen what they do. How they hunt prey after they find it. They are relentless and difficult to be deceived. The few humans who will survive this holocaust will live to curse the day that Ravenack arrived on the planet. These freaks feed on fresh blood from their hosts and...
- Shut up! You want to shut up! Angel's scream echoed loudly, drawing everyone's attention for a fleeting instant. And it didn't take long for the ship's warning lights to flash on top of the walls triggered by the temperature detectors. The armchair furthest from us ...
What the fuck! Fire?!
Max and I reacted at the same time: my colleague was running to activate Iron's defence mechanisms while cursing I raised my hand, absorbing the moisture from the air to create and release the ice crystals. A trail of ice left its way quickly on the path that I aimed across the floor to the chair. The fire only took a little longer and lost life surrounded by the brilliant crystals that extinguished it.
-That's not a goddamn zombie apocalypse, Spike! - Angel yelled louder and beside himself.
I was able to capture the state of her emotions in turmoil and it was not the fear of images that seemed to flicker with failures before they finally disappeared.
-But Angel ...- I heard Spike reply.
-They are decomposing forms of flesh that give birth to various demons, with worms and demonic creatures gliding over their bodies. They are creatures hidden by the shadows. -Angel stared at her friend with the eyes radiating totally blue energy. - A bloody shadow army ... Damn!
She was losing control quite easily. I tried to get closer and stepped back, letting the girl vent the fury that fed her in the blast when several small objects on the panel furthest from us as tools seemed to create life and flew in different directions.
-Good, Angel! - Spike complained this time with humility!
-They're dead. All dead, Spike! Nobody survived that. They killed everyone! All representatives of the seven Towers ... My family ... It is the end of the world. Just like it was ...- her final words got stuck in her throat as her eyes widened, first expressing disbelief and then glowing with despair and pain.
I saw the girl running away as if demons were chasing her and turned around towards Joshua furious as I measured him from top to bottom in disgust.
-Satisfied now? What were you waiting for by showing her all this?
Joshua was the usual cold science officer who didn't even seem to have feelings. Of course, I, too, had not forgotten the damned Zorckans who plagued my ship.
-The mind control they did on her mind can be easily broken. - He watched with all coldness. - Actually, from what I could see, the girl's reactions are more of a very normal emotional block in situations of stress and anguish and ...
Joshua fell silent the moment my fist hit him in the chin and if Max didn't have the initiative to push me away, wouldn't even know what my reaction would be. I was burning furiously.
-Let's go! We all need to keep a cool head here. It's happening again and it won't be pretty. As long as we are unable to fix the temporal probability generator ... I howled possessed.
Stuck!
I was stuck in space-time, but at least it wasn't a hell of time looping as kalael faced. What a joke for a Gargoyle!
Hellish ordeal.
Damn time-space.
If only there were some time-travel devices there ... Ah, they had been banned. I always had a spare and it wouldn't be enough. Not for the number of members of the ship's crew. I couldn't use them without telling everyone who I was. A gargoyle. I illegally sold the time to whoever made the best offer. My unknown life in the Confederation involved very questionable and illegal activities. A space-time dealer ... I must confess that having acquired some skills after years as a host of those things was very useful. Mind control ... What about Angel...
She remembers! Does she remember everything?
- I'm going after the girl! - I declared dryly adjusting my clothes and then tied my hair with a strip close to the nape of the neck. - It will be safer for you not to try to make new disclosures without consulting me. Speaking that, I turned my back without looking at anyone.
I had a small arsonist to find and didn't know what to expect.
How much did she know?
How much could such a young child remember?
Maybe I was in too much trouble. If she remembered ...